Top 4 Steps For Introducing New Technology

Light. Wonderful, inviting, warm, friendly light. Since the dawn of civilization mankind has required light in some form or another. From the fires that were lit by travelers of old to keep wild animals and bandits away at night, to gas lit lamps of a century ago to the modern electrical lights we use today to make life easier. Where there is darkness we seek light; sunlight, flashlights, candles, headlights, and even cell phone lights. We are drawn towards light.

But not all light is equal. I certainly wouldn’t want to have a surgeon try to operate on me by candlelight or flashlight; I want him to have the brightest light possible so that he makes no mistakes. Or how about trying to drive a car in the dark with nothing more than the light from your cell phone jumpers for sale?

Some times too much light can be a bad thing. I have heard it stated that there are two kinds of light—the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures.

How many of you have driven into direct sunlight with a pitted windshield?
Have you ever had someone walk up to you with a flashlight pointed at your face?

The glow that illuminates is useful to us. It can be a tool that makes life better. The glare that obscures is a hindrance – we turn away from it.

When we are exposed to a new idea, new technology, better information or way of doing things, rather than becoming the glow that illuminates, we often become the glare that people turn away from. Our natural tendency is to overload our peers and our employees with too much of a good thing and they in turn look away from us.

I have seen this happen many times when companies seek to add new technology into their work-flow. Managers are excited about the possibilities that a new predictive dialer or IVR system will bring to the company – they are often like a Roman Candle going off in a glorious display of light and sound. But to their employees they are nothing more than a too bright, noisy display of sounding brass and tinkling bells.

To avoid becoming a hindrance by shining your light too bright and creating that glare your employees turn away from, I have 4 steps for introducing new technology into your business environment

Involve both staff and external experts in developing new ideas and ways of working with the technology. This is critical, especially in the world of dialing and IVR technology – there are so many ways to use the technology; it is easy to get lost.

Provide everyone that is impacted by the new technology with the necessary background information to understand new solutions and work-flows.

Introduce change, whenever possible, in an incremental way. Adding new technology, especially user facing technology such as a phone system, dialer, or CRM application, can be a harrowing experience giving rise to much frustration. Introducing the new components one at a time, with enough time for feedback and adjustments, goes a long way towards creating a stress free user experience.

And lastly, encourage users to give feedback and suggestions during the process. Your front line users of technology are usually in the best position to truly understand the work-flow your new idea or technology is intended to improve.

By following these 4 simple steps, whether it’s for implementing new technology, or a new business process, you can take your light and knowledge and be the glow of illumination instead of being the glare that obscures.

IAT focuses on making collections easier and more effective for ARM agencies. We design our predictive dialing and IVR Messaging solutions to fit your unique contacting model and maximize productivity. Tailored technology makes implementation easier and can be adjusted as your company evolves.